HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s business outlook continued to drop in October, indicating that there will be no immediate pickup from the recession in the city which is facing a global trade slowdown and domestic political unrest and violence.
Output fell to 32.3, the lowest reading since the series began and well below the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction. “The ongoing political unrest and impact of trade tensions saw business activity fall at the sharpest pace since the survey started over 21 years ago. Anecdotal evidence revealed that the retail and tourism sectors remained particularly affected,” Bernard Aw, principal economist at IHS, said in the release.